Tool for bending metal fabrics



May 17, 1927. 1,628,976

I c. w. HAWTHORNE TOOL FOR BENDING METAL FABRICS Filed on. 20, 1923 C/arles Hawthorne 15 Attorneys Patented May 17, 1927.

UNITED STAT-es P; ENr orries.

CHARLES W. HAWTHORNE, Q11 SHREWSBUBY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY-TMES'NE ASSIGNMENTS, T ZlI-IE CHASE NATIONAL BANK OF THE 'CITY OF NEW FYURK,

TRUSTEE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

T0614 "FOR BENDING METAL FABRICS.

Application ifil'e'rl October 20, '1923. Serial N-o. 1669,8315.

invention relates to .a tool for Fbendmetal :fabri'c and'particularly for bending the fabric used in concrete and cement estructures .of different kinds. The fabric used for such purposes may be woven, welded 501 formed of perforated metal, but in any event it stiff and heavy and very di'flicu'lt 'to' bend to a desired form. Furthermore, it is commonly necessary that the fabric be bent at the location where it is to be used and where suitable mechanical equipment is usually lacking.

It is the object of my invention to provide a simple and convenient tool by which such fabric may be bent to a desired form. producing accurate results with a marked saving in time and labor.

In the preferred form of my invention, I provide a device for engaging and pressing downward a portion of the fabric,.a separate device for engaging and raising or bending upward another portion of the fabric and means to secure said devices in selected spaced relation.

My invention further relates to arrangements and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

A preferred form of the invention is shown in the drawings, in which Figure 1 is a. perspective view of my improved ben'ding tool; a

Fig. Q'is adetail plan view looking in the direction of the arrow 2 in Fig. 1; and

Figs. 3 to 6 inclusive are diagrammatic views illustrating certainuses of the bending tool.

Referring to the drawings my improved bending tool comprises a cross bar 10 from the rear ends of which project a pair of rods 11 having handle port-ions 12 projecting upwardly at an oblique angle therefrom. A lifting bar 13 is slidably mounted on the rods 11 and is provided with a plurality of V-shape'd notches 1 1 terminating in offset re cesses 15 disposed above hook-like projections 16. V

The lifting bar 13 may be adjusted on the rods 11 to vary the distance between the cross bar 10 and the lifting bar 13, the bar being secured'in adjusted position by set screws 17 (Fig. 2) engaging the supporting bars 11.

The cross bar 10 may be formed from a piece of a-ngle iron with its :ttatisside 'injposi- .tion. [to engage the fabric as indicated-in Figs. 3 to '6. The lifting bar 13 :maywalso desirably be .formed of a single flat lbfi'l' Ol plate bent at the ends as indicated in Fig.2

and cut awayto form the recesses 'and ghooklike proest-ions previously described.

It will be understood that the notches or recesses 14 are spaced to correspond to the gauge 'or distance between the wires inthc fabric with which the tool is to be used and that a cross bar of different gauge or spacing should be provided for each different gauge of fabric, except that the same spacing may be used for different gauges which are multiples of each other. That is, a oneinch gauge may be also used for fabric in which the wires are spaced two inches or three inches apart While a three-quarter inch gauge may be similarly used for one inch and a half, two and a quarter, or three inch gauge.

The operation of my improved bending tooljis clearly setforth in Figs. 3 to 6 inclusive, which illustrate one of the uses to which my improved tool is well adapted. These figures illustrate the bending of material for reinforcing concrete floors or floor slabs. A mesh fabric F is conveniently supported upon blocks B and B and may be held in position on one of the blocks by placing a plank C over the fabric, on which plank the operator may stand. The bending tool is applied to the fabric as indicated in Fig. 3, with the hook-like projection 16 extending through the meshes of the fabric and engaging the longitudinal wires thereof. The tool is then moved to the position shown in Fig. 4, swinging substantially about the cross bar 13 as a pivot and bending the wire downward as indicated. The tool is then removed and transferred to the opposite edge of the fabric and the fabric is again placed upon the blocks B and B and is clamped to the block Bby the plank C as indicated in Fig. 5. The bending tool is then used to form a similar but oppositely disposed bend along the second edge of the fabric and produces the desired finished outis also available for bending either one or a plurality of longitudinal rods, even when not interwoven or otherwise secured to form a fabric.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof I do not wish to be.

lifting bar having a plurality of spaced hook-shaped projections to engage and lift portions of the fabric, and said projections having V-shaped lower ends facilitating application of said bending tool to the metal fabric.

2. A tool for bending metal fabric comprising a fabric engaging cross bar, a pair ofmetal rods fixed thereto, a fabric liftin bar slidable on said rods and having spacer fabric engaging portions, and means to adjust said lifting bar on said rods toward and from said cross bar.

3. A tool for bending metal fabric comprising a fabric engaging angle iron cross bar, a pair of rods fixed thereto and having handle portions bent obliquely upwardlv therefrom, a fabric lifting bar slidable on said rods and having spaced fabric engaging projections, and means to adjustably secure said lifting bar on said rods at a selected distance from said cross bar.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.

CHARLES \V. I-Ii-UVTHORNE. 

